Friday, February 28, 2014

It's been like...um, a long time since I blogged. Y'all can stand in line to spank me and I promise not to enjoy it too much ;)

Life has been crazy. I mean, insane. Seriously. After October it seemed as though someone hit the warp speed button and I got caught up in living life and trying to put a new book out.

That happened by the way. Not the warp speed thing, but the book release. The first book in a multi-author series, Touched by Lightning, came out on Valentine's Day. I like to call it a cross between The Crow and X-Men. It's dark. I won't lie about that. There's a lot of tragedy in the book, but there's also humor and hopefully, readers will get where I was going with the story. That there's hope and happiness waiting for us all. We just have to work to find it.

But I'm not here to get all heavy and shit. This is the Cabal of Hotness blog, not the Danica Sometimes Feels Like A Broody Teenager blog. Heh.

So what to write about? *ponders* Oh! I know!

I've been asked by a few family members about me writing something without all that sex in it. I thought about it long and hard (pun intended) and realized I'm not sure I could write a book without sex in it. Sure, I could probably write something that isn't a romance at all and not have sex in it, but when I think of romance books, of characters falling in love, the physical side of that love is a big part of it for me. And sure, I could probably do a closed doors story, but where's the fun in that?

You're more honest when you're fucking. Can I say that here? *looks for the police* Sex is intimate, of course. It's two, or more bodies coming together in the most basic of ways. It should be about losing yourself in the moment, forgetting about what society says is right or wrong, letting the real you surface and seeing the real person in your partner(s). That's what sex should be and that's what I try to convey in a romance.

To me, the act of making love, fucking, sex, whatever you want to call it, should be the time when you're your most vulnerable and open. And not being able to see it when it happens in a book means you're missing out on something vital to the story, to the relationship between the characters. You're only getting a glimpse of what they've done together instead of each nitty, gritty detail. Does it have to be vulgar? You know, all graphic? Not really, but it sure is fun.

And that's the problem for me. I want my stories to be raw, true. Life is messy. Sex should be messy and loud. So I guess I won't be writing a closed doors story any time soon.

What do y'all think? I know most of y'all are erotic romance readers, but is it the sex, or is it the true connection between the characters as their relationship grows that draws you the most?

When
empath Gyda St. Germaine is rescued from a sex-trafficking ring, she vows
vengeance on her tormentors. Aided by two distinct personalities who bolster
her powers, she becomes a vigilante, hungry for revenge. Her path of
retribution tosses her into the arms of an Order of Themis Siphon and her world
is turned upside down. Fighting her past takes a backseat to her all-consuming
desire for the man whose honor and sense of justice go against everything she
believes.

The moment
electricity manipulator Brit Harper stumbled across a feral woman with a bloody
knife, his life changed. Black and white becomes gray as the scales of justice
tip. Fascinated by her strength and the darkness in her eyes, he vows to teach
her the true meaning of justice, and help her explore the passion sizzling
between them. But when the evil haunting Gyda’s dreams returns in the flesh, he’ll
have to choose between his beliefs and the woman he loves.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Is tough. Going away is one of my favourite things to do, but getting back into the swing of things is hard. While away I met a woman that has her masters in internet marketing. She gave some awesome tips which I hope to be able to use sometime.

Since I'm still on island time, I'll post a few pretty pictures that I hope warms up your snowy and cold days. Not only is re-entry tough, but so is this winter.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

A little while ago I was interviewed while on blog tour, but it didn't get to the host in time and wasn't posted. It was a good interview and worth while, so here you go.

Tell us 5 things that make you happy

Just 5 (LOL)? I would have to say personal peace is first. I think if
one has personal peace that everything else will fall into place, including
happiness. Hmm… When I originally saw this question I thought I would have a
list a mile long, but in reality I’m happy with only having one answer. Anyone
who has had a bout where their personal peace was ever disrupted will
understand where I’m coming from. Without personal peace everything else seems
to unravel. I think this is what makes some stories better than others. As
readers we tend to identify with the hero/heroine and when they become
unsettled (losing personal peace in some form or another) we identify with that
and we long for them to find it again (happy ending).

What makes your perfect man, perfect? What do
you look for in a hero?

I like strong, commanding men. I like for them to know what they want
and go after it. They also know when to fold when needed or regroup when
necessary. I like them sexy and handsome. They don’t necessarily need to be
model perfect. I like a man with some flaws and maybe a scar or two. I want
them to have been through some kind of struggle in their past—things didn’t
come easy. Whew! In a nutshell I guess I like reading and writing about
imperfect men. When you read one of the stories in the Loving Dangerously
series you will get where I’m coming from. In Dangerously Mine, Taio Xochis is
trying to stay out of his father’s shadow and in doing so has become rigid and
stuck to his ways. Kane Epps in Dangerously Yours is hell bent on revenge that
it takes him a while to recognize love staring him in the face. And Rasha from
Dangerously Hers gets knocked on his butt by a feisty human.

What qualities make up your least favorite
heroine?

I don’t like heroines that a too stupid to live. We all know the type.
They always seem to be in trouble by doing, saying or going somewhere stupid. I
like my heroines smart, witty and sassy. They’re one step ahead of every once
else (or they think they are).

Do you have any quirks? When writing, or
otherwise?

Quirks? Hmm… I don’t think so. I’m pretty normal and easy-peasy.

Do you have any hobbies that you take part in
when you aren’t writing?

I love traveling! I’ve been on 5 trips this year alone and two of those
were out of the country. Wait, is traveling considered a hobby? *shrugs* I
don’t know, but I’m counting it as one.

What do you like to read?

I love science fiction, that’s why I write it. I also love paranormal.
I’m sold on anything with vampires, shifters, witches or faeries. But what
people are most surprised to find out about me is that I love historical
romance. I can read anything about a Scottish Laird or the life of “the
Ton”.I actually read more of those than
anything else. I don’t write it because I really don’t have the patience for
the amount of research that would have to go into it. And also because my
heroines tend to cuss too much to conform to the historical mode.

If you had to pick one of your characters to
survive a zombie apocalypse with, who would it be and why?

All of my characters can survive a zombie apocalypse attack. They seem
to really love weapons and are quite trigger happy and like to see heads roll.
The men in my books are either royal guards which are highly trained warriors
or they are space pirates who have lived on gut and gumption. My females have
some type of martial arts or weapons training. So yeah, I’d be on their team.
LOL.

Tell us a bit about how the idea for your book
came about.

When I first sat down to write Dangerously Mine I knew my story would start at the end. The end of
life on Earth as we know it. I wanted strong female characters that would face
their futures head on without snivelling or cowering in a corner. I also wanted
to create an event where I could have endless possibilities to follow humans as
they move forward in their new lives on new worlds. I hope that one day when a
new sci-fi author is asked this question he/she will be able to say that one of
my books has opened their eyes to a different way of writing and scenarios

Which of the seven deadly sins are you most
partial to? Which do you indulge in the most?

O.K. so I actually had to look this one up. I’m not partial to any of
them. I really hope this means I can get into heaven.

Who is the person who most inspired you?
Either in your life, or writing?

I would have to say my mother. She’s a writer as well. I remember her at
her desk on her typewriter for hours at a time. She inspired me to get
published. That’s something she never inspired to do. She was afraid of her
work not being accepted or liked.

Do you have a favorite quote?

My late grandmother used to always say “Everybody has a little good in
them. Either good for something or good for nothing.” It would crack me up when
she would say it because it usually came right after someone would say
something like, “I have a good man.” Needless to say she was feisty.

Can you tell us a little about your latest
project?

I’m in edits with the fourth book in the Loving Dangerously series
titled Dangerously His and I’m one week from submitting the fifth book titled
Dangerously Forever. Dangerously His is about two people who want to be
together but are being separated by forces they can’t control. Dangerously
Forever is the story where Eva (from Dangerously Mine) and her best friend
Allysan finally reunite. It’s definitely not the end of the series. There are
still so many worlds and characters to explore.

Last but not least, if you could be anyone
else in the world, who would it be, and why?

I really enjoy being me. I have a really good life. I love my family, my
husband and kids. It’s by far not perfect, but that’s what I tend to like
anyway.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

On January 18th, 11 authors each released a short story ranging from 10 to 20,000 words. The stories all had something to do with Valentine's Day, and we named the series Red Hot Valentine. Would you believe me if I told you there were no snags? If so, allow me to show you this lovely swampland in Florida.

But seriously, considering how much there was no manage and navigate, the fact the Red Hot Valentine series went off with very few glitches is pretty remarkable. Here's how it happened:

Randi Alexander was the brains behind the project. She contacted me, gave me the details, and I was in. A FB group for the authors was created and we began to plan. That was in December 2013.

As a group, we talked about all the little decisions that come with a series the way we'd decided to do it. One thing that was true from the very beginning was each story would be offered for .99.

In the end, each individual author was responsible for their contribution, from cover to editing to uploading. This was a great choice since it didn't put the onus on one person.

We also decided to make a public FB page for the series so there would be one place for readers to go to find out more information about the series and the individual stories.

We started creating our covers and writing our stories, comparing draft copies of covers and snippets from our works in progress. Randi started a document where we each signed up for a cover reveal day. The cover reveals then happened every day or two up to release day on January 18th.

All of us uploaded our stories and waited for them to go live. A few authors had some glitches with uploading, but I think all eleven stories were up by 2-3 days after release.

Some strange things happened, like Amazon putting an adult tag on Desiree Holt's contribution, Quarterback Sneak. If you're familiar with Amazon, you know if you get the dreaded adult tag your book stops showing up in searches and other bad things. It took Desiree a few weeks to convince Amazon her story was not, in fact, porn.

The stories started selling, and personally, I'm really happy with my sales. This story is probably a little sweeter than some of my fans are used to, but they seem to be enjoying it.

Maybe this little behind the scenes vignette isn't that interesting, but I hope you liked hearing about the creation process for a series like Red Hot Valentine. For more information, you can check out our FB page at http://www.facebook.com/RedHotValentine.

My story is titled Turnaround. The blurb:

Becca and James don't date. Both are in their thirties and neither has found anyone they feel is potential spouse material. Becca attends a "We Hate Valentine's Day" party at a local bar where James is bartending. He knows from the first day they meet that Becca is someone special, but Becca's more cautious. James sets out to prove to Becca there really are happy-ever-afters.

James hung another bunch of black balloons where they wouldn’t be constantly in his way while he mixed drinks at The Ale House’s annual “We Hate Valentine’s Day” party. The irony of having to work this

particular gig when he actually loved this holiday made him shake his head, but work was work.

Nice to have a day where it’s actually encouraged to tell your loved ones you care. Not enough of that in today’s world.

He knew he sounded like a stodgy old codger, but simply because he was thirty-three and still single didn’t mean he thought love sucked. It was more a matter of finding the right girl. James didn’t want to marry just anybody. His parents had been a great example to him and his sister and James refused to settle, even if that meant he stayed single. Doing the whole flowers-and-chocolate thing was often derided by other men, but he loved doing all that stuff. His friends sometimes made fun of him for it but, hey, most of them were still single too, so he ignored them.

James held up the black sheet of paper with the annoying white script font. His graphic designer sensibilities wanted to beg those around him to stop using that particular eye-bleeding combination, but this wasn’t his primary job, where people might care what he thought of a design, and he needed this second job–for now–so he kept his mouth shut. Why can’t everyone else see how hard it is to read? Ugh.

“Yep. All set.” The specials, in keeping with the theme, were called things like Broken Heart and Love Hurts. Since they were expecting a crowd predominantly made up of women, most of the ingredients were geared toward them too–a lot of fruit juices and frozen drinks.

Mick called out, “Opening doors,” and immediately a stream of people burst into the cavernous space. Here in Austin, Texas, the temperature was in the 70s during the day and a little cooler at night so waiting outside wasn’t a big deal, but people sure seemed excited to get started on their own bitter version of “celebrating.”

They kept James hopping for the first half-hour or so. He was turning back toward the bar after using the blender when he spotted her. The slippery glass nearly fell from his hand and strawberry daiquiri dripped down the side and slithered over his fingers. She watched it and licked her lips.

Oh mercy.

He handed the drink, still thankfully mostly full, to the woman who’d ordered it and then grabbed a towel. Focusing his attention on the lovely vision before him, James asked, “What can I get for you?” Brilliant opening salvo, dude. Sure, it was his job, but he could’ve thought of something more witty than that if his brains hadn’t been scrambled by her sudden appearance.

She was clad all in black, so likely an enthusiastic attendee of this party, but there was something in her eyes that said maybe she wasn’t a lost cause. Bright red hair tumbled to her shoulders and was set off by her black, satiny top. Her skin was pale; her face dotted with freckles. His gut told him, despite her apparent distaste for Valentine’s Day, he needed to know this woman better.

She tilted her head at the drink specials menu on the bar in front of her. “I’m not much for these fancy drinks. How about a Stoli and cranberry?”

“A girl after my own heart.” Shit, I wonder if she won’t like me saying that? But a small smile appeared and he set about making her drink. “I’m James. You know, in case you need anything else.”

“Becca.”

“Well, Becca, I hope to see you again.”

Dropping a ten on the bar, she smiled. “When I get thirsty, I’m sure you will.”